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Jonathan Lee Iverson loves the old-school style of circus — with dazzling acrobatics, goofy clowns and exotic animals. But he realizes that a 21st-century world needs a circus to go with it.

As ringmaster for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s “Legends” show, he’s promising both when the big 144th edition Blue Unit show comes to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena (formerly the Bi-Lo Center) in Greenville through Feb. 2.

Iverson first donned the ringmaster’s hat in 1999 — at 22, he was the youngest person to hold the job. He was also the first African-American ringmaster for the company. He stayed with Ringling until 2004, then returned in 2009. “It’s more exciting now” to be ringmaster than before, he said. “There’s been an evolution of the show in every way.”

“Legends” is a faster, snappier production “but it still has that dream-like impact,” he said. The audience is “willing to grow” with the circus, “but they expect certain things,” he said.

The show has such classic elements as the Medeiros Hair Hang Act (eight women dangling from their locks), the Cossack horseback riders, the Torres family of motorcycle riders zipping around a 16-foot steel globe, and Alexander Lacy and lions and tigers.

The show is “crafted in a way where it still has that punch to it,” he said.

Another new twist is the Ringmaster Zone upgrade, with behind-the-scenes access and a chance to meet the stars and get autographs. “I think it really gives the performers a greater respect for the audience,” he said.

Iverson got his first taste of show business performing with the Boys Choir of Harlem. Now a father with two children of his own, he treasures the chance to travel the rails with his family. “There is something so different about this lifestyle,” he said.

The job of ringmaster doesn’t open very often — there have only been 38 men to hold the post, going back to 1871 and P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome.

“And in my unit, it’s not opening up anytime soon,” said Iverson., who is determined to keep the job. Beyond hosting the show, Iverson’s mission is “to keep the fantasy going,” no matter what happens with the show. “I can not give myself over to reality. It’s all about the fantasy and that is why people are still coming to the show after 144 years.”